Continuous cooker-cooler drive



March 2, 1948.-

E. BOURLAND CONTINUOUS COOKER- COOLER DRIVE Filed June 4, 1945 /l I l ///I/ ///l ELI BOURLAND .4 T TORNEIY Patented Mar. 2,

N E STATE,

CONTINUOUS eooKEn-ooomanmvn Eli Bourland, Minnie Highlands, Califi, assignor -to Pacific Ca'nCompany, Sa'niFrancisco, CaliL, a-corporation Nevada 3 v 1 Application June 4, 1945, Serial No. 597,544

handling machinermand. in particular is directed to improvements in can-handling machines in which the can-is propelled endwise by a trackin; an elongated pocket while its contents are being treated v L H l c I.

For a long timethe industryhas struggled with the problem of eliminating wear on the end flange of sealed cans produced by the track as it pushes the can along the pocket i'n the propelling'reel. Various solutions have been suggested, such as the employment of rollers to form the elongated pocket so that'the can will be 'kptroll-ing'while itis being pushed endwise b'y'the track. Another suggestion forsolving the problin'has been the use of the lead and no-lead track, as first shown in the patentto Chapman,-No. 1,646,577: l

' The objectof-the present invention is to solve this problem by providing a novel iorinoi track member which has the 'efiecti' of reducing the fric tion between the track and-theeiid of each can. Tests have shown that' 'the' dra'g'and wear on the can is substantially eliniinated.--

This has a decidedly advantageous efiect on the operation of the whole machine, for, because with the drag of the. prior arttrackon the cans, more horsepower has been needed to rotate the propelling reeLand also it;hasfbeen i'mpossiblelto run the machines at as highayspeedv as would otherwise .be possible because of the; damage to the ends of tlieeans' wnierrseemea to increase as theisp'eed increased. Theresult of the invention therefore is. that less power-is needed in operating the machine and it can be operate dfat higher speeds than. hasheretofore been possible without injurytcthe canrendsn l I i In compliancewith U. S. Rev. 'Stat. Sec. 4888, an illustrativeflembodiment. of the invention is shown'in-the drawings. It' is notthe intention to limit this patent tothespecific form 'ef track shown, as that is purely illustrative of the invention as defined in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of what is known in the trade as a continuous cooker or cooler. Some parts are shown broken away, and others are shown in cross section;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective taken adjacent the right-hand end of the upper broken-away View in Fig. 1; i

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective similar to Fig. 2 with the parts rotated about 90 to the right; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the type of track and reel showing the relationship of the can to the track and the reel.

4 Claims. (01. 994 5.)

The invention-is to be; described in connection; with s can 'track apparatus 0f the horizontal drum type emplcying' a horizontally mounted rotatablefreel having elongated pockets for corifl ve'yingthe cans ina generally helical path through the "drum' anda track member therein surrounding-the reel pocketsand having a radial member adapted to advance each can axially in its respective -pocket. -I 'his""form"of machine is illustrated infthe I-Smith Fatent' No. 628,554. It comprises the dr'urh IB'; set one horizontal axis;- and having mounted on the shaft' a'reel I [2 made up {of fanglejirons I 3--set s'o as to provide elong'atedpocketsor troughs 14 along which the can; sjina y slide; endwijsei As' shownin the middle broken-away view of Fig. 11, these angle irons or pocketnieinbersl3 are inclined slightly to theaxis of the reel 1 2. This'is' also illustrated in Flei-f T P. 4 I F Secured around theinslde of the drum ill is a track l6, usually made or metal bars in the form of a 'T havingthe flat portionsjl'l and the radial member" l8. This track may have whatis known i'nthe industry as'a constant lead-or constant helix; asshown inl.the-'smithfpatent, or it may have a le'ad and no-lead heli r as shown in the Chapman patent. Asused-dn; this description the words ffgenerally helicalf-"are-intended to mea'ii -any "roim qr t'rack* in which the;g' e n eral fictisto propelor "guide the'cans l5 from one end ofthefdruir'i" rate theotlierend. The enter the drum lllj thrlough an inllet'valve l9 and exit from thence-th ough thefeutlet valve 207. The operation ofthes'e valves is well known to those skilledin this art-anep yjsng part in the;

present inventiomj v 2 r Referring now "to 'Fig. "4,- which illustrates a traegl 'einvm e' aps am pitcntogr nn a helix, it is preferable 'tc havef'the i lgfilar' set" on the an'gl irdns' l's 'arrahg'dso that the track l6 and the angle irons l3 cross at substantially a right angle. This means that each can l5 carried by the reel will engage the radial member l8 at two points 2| and 22 on its double seamed end. This two-point contact is not absolutely essential and does not exist in all positions in the case of the lead and no-lead spiral track l6.

As shown in' Fig. 4 the end of the can opposite the points 2| and 22 is not in contact with the radial member l8 of the next turn of track. The reason for this is that it is the radial member l8 on the other end of the can which is propelling the can endwise in the reel pocket I4 in the direction of the arrow. The clearance space 23 is desirable because at times there is some variation in the length of cans, and also for one reason or another they may bulge on the ends during certain types of treatment.

On the impelling or working side 24 of the radial member I8 of the track [6 is provided a bead 25 which may be of a half round, quarter round, bulb-nosed, chamfered, or oval shape in cross section. Its shape will be that which will give the least friction between it and the two points 2| and 22 where it contacts the end of the can. This bead or side bearing member preferably is made of a non-corrodible low-friction i'ng secured thereon a smooth low-friction noncorrodible side bearing member in position to type of material and extends axially outwardly from the working side 24 of the radial member l8 so that it is ofiset axially withrelation to the surface 24. This means that whenever the can I5 is being pushed axially endwise along the reel trough M, the bead 25 is the only part of the track member H5 in contact with the canendf I It is customary for machines of this type to have the drum l0 filled either with steam or water or other material which causes the reel and the track parts to rust and corrode very quickly. Also, during theofi seasons, when the equipment is lying idle in the canneries, this rusting process continues unabated. The bead 25 may be secured to the radial member 8 by means of rivets 2B or it may be formed as an integral part of the radial member), in which case all or part of the radial member preferably would be made of a non-corrodible material, or at least be sheathed with it. j I

There are many; different ways of obtaining an axially offset edge 25 for the radial member 18, and it is not my intention to limit the in:- vention to any particular form for this bearing surface or member 25. In the claims where reference is made to the bead and the side bearing member being the only part of the track memher in contact with the can while guiding it in its pocket, this is notto be taken to mean that when in thelowerhalf of its cycle the can does. not also roll on the surface 51 of the track -I-B. What the claim language is intended to means is that the bead or side bearing member 25 is the .only part of the radial portionof the track in contact with the end of the can.

What is claimed is:

1. In a can-treating app ratusof the horizon-,

tal drum type employing a horizontally mounted rotatable reel having elongated pockets for conveying the cans in a generally helical path through said drum, and a track'member therein surroundingsaid reel pockets and having a ra-, dial -member adapted to advance each can axially in its respective pocket, said radial member having formed thereon a bead or rib likeantifriction bearing member extending axially outwardly from the wall of said radial member and from end to end of said member, whereby said bead "engage the end "of each can whenever advancing it in its poclre't, whereby said side bearing member isthe only part of said track member in contact with a oan end While guiding it in its pocket.

'3. 'In a caii treating apparatus of the horizontal 'dru-m type employing a horizontally mounted rotatable reel having elongated pockets for conveying the can in a generally helical path through said drum, and a track member therein surrounding said reel pockets and having a radial member adapted to advance each can axially in its respective pocket, said radial member having formed thereon a continuous bead extending axially outwardly from the wallof said radial member, whereby said bead is the, only part of said track member in contact with a can end while guiding it in its pocket.

4. In :a'can-treating apparatus of the horizontal drum type employing a horizontally mounted rotatable reel having elongated pockets forconveying the cans in a generally helical .path through said drum, and a track member therein surrounding said reel pockets and having a radial member adaptedto advance each can axially in its respective pocket, said radial member having formed thereon a non-corrodible bead or rib extending axially outwardly from the wall of said radial member, whereby said bead is the only part of said track member in contact with a can end while guiding itin its-pocket.

BOURLAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

